Chasing Dreamtime: A Sea-Going Hitchhiker's Journey Through Memory and Myth

by Neva Sullaway

Chasing Dreamtime is the incredible true-life story of a young traveler's journey through memory and myth. In 1975, after college and a brief, disastrous marriage, Neva Sullaway attempts to escape her anguish as well as the post-Vietnam confusion of her generation by sailing alone around the world, but her plans are abruptly scuttled. A string of unlikely events occurs and sends her boat-hopping across the vast South Pacific.
While sailing among the exquisitely beautiful Pacific atolls, Sullaway is arrested for a visa violation, hunted by sharks, stricken with tropical fever and held at knifepoint. Even after being entangled in a drug-smuggling scheme and facing death several times, Sullaway continues her journey, taking a brief respite from sailing the seas to pedal a "pushbike" 2,000 kilometers along Australia's northeastern coastline. There the odyssey takes its sharpest turn as she ventures onto a fishing trawler in the remotest outback regions.
While poised at the brink of her physical and emotional limits in the stark Never-Never, Sullaway catches a glimpse of the elusive Aboriginal concept of Dreamtime and her darkest demons unfold into wings of flight. For Sullaway and the reader alike, reality can never be the same again. Awards

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Tanya Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Supposedly a true story... but I found myself questioning whether that could all happen to one person - even one person who consistently makes bad choices.

[Lobeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a little while to get into this book, but once I did I really enjoyed it. This is a true story of a woman who travels around the world, mostly sailing, but at one point biking across Australia. As she travels, she begins to make a personal journey through painful supressed memories. But it's not depressing, and you feel Neva's sense of empowerment start to blossom. I also like to read about sailing and traveling in different countries, so this was another draw for me.

[Mitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

No words for how good this is...

There are no words in any language to describe just wonderful and powerful this book is. It will rattle your heart and soul, freeing you to soar like Summa way did as she chased Dreamtime.

[Jackie Craven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to read the manuscript, and couldn't put it down. Re-read the book after publication, and fell in love again.

[Elizabeth Park · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know. This was a bit much. Not an engaging or sympathetic narrator. No pleasant or normal characters in the whole book. Made me curious to look up islands in an atlas.

[Rob Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

An authentic tale of travel, discovery, and coming of age.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book while browsing the shelves for other sailing books at the library. It's the memoir of a young woman who, after leaving an abusive marriage back in 1975, buys an old boat and plans to sail from Hawai'i onwards. That plan goes awry and she winds up boat-hopping as crew throughout the South Pacific, ending up in Australia, through many misadventures. But it's the way the book weaves in the magic of the Aboriginal dreamtime that really drew me in and made me give it five stars.

[S. Faxon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a captivating adventure to share with the author! Full discretion, I do know Ms. Sullaway, which made being along for the ride in her tales on the seas that much more moving. Highly recommend this read.

[Eli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is totally not the style that I usually read but I found it really intriguing. The story was very immersive and adventurous. It's hard to believe that this is non-fiction.

[Chesney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book about discovering who we are through the world! So awesome!

[Paul Colby · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author is a good writer and tells a good story. Unfortunately, the story she tells is sooooo depressing. I read a lot of memoirs from adventurers who have traveled the Earth using various methods of locomotion. I enjoy these vicarious trips by people who are out there doing it, instead of sitting on their couches and reading about it. My goal is to lift my spirits, imagine living the experience myself, and take pleasure in the people who are met along the way. However, Neva's journey thoroughly sucked in just about every way imaginable. Too many human beings she encountered were lowlife p.o.s., with a few exceptions. How many dangerous situations can one person get into before they gain some survival savvy and learn to avoid sketchy people? Neva never did.

Neva's writing skills kept me reading, but by the end, I wanted to slit my wrists. I was just glad to be done. I am immediately looking for a book that will balance out this ultimately depressing book.

[JennanneJ]

50 pages in. It’s fine, but not grabbing me.

[Northernattire · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book of sailing adventures in the Pacific. It was written several years ago as some of the things you would not be able to do today.